Saturday, September 30, 2017

GE-14 is definitely coming and everyone is brimming with excitement, hope or dread, depending upon who you were, are and want (hope) to be.

But the common denominator in all these brouhaha has been about the likely future and impact of PAS.

My personal thoughts are that PAS as the 3rd Party will kacau everyone to the benefit of BN (UMNO), especially in 3-corner competitions, thus I had labelled PAS as King-Maker in GE-14, an issue which I blogged on and posted early this month asPAS Selangor is King-Maker.

But it seems I have been wrong as we will soon read.OK, let's look at Selangor state and not get our knickers in a bunch unnecessarily in states like Penang where at most PAS may pick up a few of PKR's Heartland seats.I am thinking of Penang state seats in the Permatang Pauh federal constituency like N.10 Seberang Jaya and N.12 Penanti where a PKR weeping willow grows outside a bloody factory in the latter, wakakaka.

PAS is already holding N.11 Permatang Pasir and looks quite strong too. I believe PKR may have a wee problem in the Permatang Pauh constituency and its 3 state seats.

incumbent for Permatang Pasir

Naturally pro Pakatan (and probably anti PAS, wakakaka) political commentators like my blogging and DAP matey, Ong Kian Ming, has given his analysis on the likely influence or political effect on the Selangor state elections as being favourable to Pakatan , mildly unfavourable to BN and disastrous to PAS.

Kian Ming tells us that in Selangor his worst case scenario for Pakatan will still be a 35 seats win in a DUN of 56 (29 to win), thus Pakatan (this time without PAS) will continue to form the state government with a comfortable majority of 6.

If correctly predicted I wonder who may end up being the new MB? Wakakaka. By the by, Tian Chua can still stand in Batu as he has accepted a one-month jail term plus a RM1,000 fine for some naughty violation, which are both below the disqualification-from-election limit of more than one-year's jail or RM2,000 fine.

Anyway, Kian Ming believes that Chinese and Indian support for PAS in GE-14 will exceed gravitational acceleration (that's plummeting downwards, wakakaka) and hit Earth to exit in the other hemisphere a la The China Syndrome (pun not intended), wakakaka again.

In GE-13 PAS received 80% and 60% of registered Chinese and Indian votersrespectively in the constituencies its PAS candidates stood in, but this time around, it will receive duck eggs from the dismayed, dissatisfied and disappointed Nons.

Kian Ming (who studied, among other stuff, polling trends for his PhD) also reckons Malay support for PAS in GE14 even at best would still see a drop between 15% and 25% from its previous 2013 support.

Glory be, it sounds disastrous for the Moon Party when even its Heartland support will reduce. But Kian Ming still hopes for a mighty Malay tsunami in favour of Pakatan which can bury PAS for good in the post-tsumani debris. Perhaps Kian Ming believes the Mahathir factor may be a deciding point?

Meanwhile, across the Titiwangsa Range, in the PAS Heartland of Kelantan, there appears to be likely trouble too for Hadi Awang and his men.

Singapore daily, the Straits Times (ST) noted that though the state capital Kota Baru enjoys good business, much of rural Kelantan, where agriculture is the mainstay, remains neglected. It quoted residents who said much of the rural local economy is propped up by remittances from Kelantanese working in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

“It used to be different here and we looked down on the other (states),” chicken supplier Mohd Sakri Husain, who lives in Renok Baru located 180km from Kota Baru, told ST.

“Now our economy is weak and young people have to leave Kelantan to look for work.”

ST reported estimates from polling houses that said at least 15 per cent of Kelantan voters are workers based outside the state.

Aside from abandoned wooden houses on stilts along Kelantan’s main trunk road and vacant new shop lots, ST reported that some infrastructure have yet to be rebuilt after the state’s worst floods in history in 2014 and many residents who lost their homes have yet to receive any assistance from the state government.

“I do not care very much about politics because I have to put food on the table. But I know which party I would not vote for,” restaurant helper Rozilawati Ibrahim told ST.

Tumpat MP Datuk Kamarudin Jaafar reportedly expressed concerns about three-cornered fights in Kelantan and also the rest of the country.

“Unless the Opposition can come to some agreement on seat-sharing and avoid three-cornered fights, PAS will likely lose Kelantan and the Opposition could face trouble in the rest of the country,” the PKR leader was quoted saying.

Dear dear dear considerate Kamarudin Jaafar, PKR MP as he might be, he obviously disagrees with his DAP colleague Kian Ming, and worries for PAS and still plugs for a PAS-PKR special (private) alliance.

But we mustn't forget Kamarudin Jaafar lompat-ed from PAS to PKR in 2015 wakakaka (together with the MP-ship for Tumpat gained under the PAS banner), and in 1999, lompat-ed from UMNO to PAS (but with nothing, wakakaka).

He certainly can give Ibrahim Ali and Muhd Muhd a fight for the No 2 Frog title, the No 1 Frog being Mahathir. And I reckon he is now in the correct party for his DNA, wakakaka.

Anyway, it seems in Kelantan we would not be wrong is we were to say as per the well-known political adage: "It's the economy Stupid".

But what is sad has been the ST report that in Kelantan '... infrastructure have yet to be rebuilt after the state’s worst floods in history in 2014 and many residents who lost their homes have yet to receive any assistance from the state government.'

Nik Abduh Nik Aziz has a lot to answer for that as he misused the good name of Allah swt to warn and threaten the already battered Kelantanese after the disastrous flooding.

I had previously written that Nik Abduh wrote in his Facebook page (and which was duly reported in a couple of Malaysian news portals) that,according to the son of allahyarham Nik Aziz, the 2014 floods in Kelantan were intended to remind Muslims to return to Allah’s path, and of the necessity in implementing the Islamic penal code in the state.

Yes, that 'quick-on-the-draw' and 'trigger-happy' Nik Abduh remarked: “The flood is a reminder to all Muslims to return to Allah’s ways and stay away from His wrath. It necessitates the perseverance of the Kelantan government to implement hudud laws.”

At that time, tens of thousands of suffering rakyat in Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Pahang, mainly Muslims, had had to be evacuated from their homes due to floods in various districts.

And Nik Abduh was moronic and insensitive enough at that distressful natural-disaster moment to provided us with his most halal opinion that Allah swt was very angry (wrathful) with Malaysians, which we naturally drew the conclusion as to be mainly Muslims in Kelantan and Terengganu.

Everyone would have thought the Muslims in Kelantan and Terengganu had/have been the most pious Muslims in support of Hadi Awang and PAS and their UUD355, thus Nik Abduh stupidly told them that “the flood is a reminder to all Muslims to return to Allah’s ways and stay away from His wrath".

And while Nik Abduh was frightening the already suffering Kelantanese, a Buddhist NGO Tzu Chi provided aid to flood victims in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Bintulu and even in Indonesia.

you have our backs

hugs

aid provided with due respect to orang tua

with love

Tzu Chi volunteers in Malaysia responded quickly and conducted disaster surveys in no time on 24 December. They start distributed food and water in the relief centers to make sure that the flood victims have food supplies.

On 27 December, a video conference was held between Taiwan Tzu Chi Foundation (headquarter of the foundation) and volunteers from local chapters in Malaysia (Penang, Kelantan, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Melaka) to draw up emergency relief aid plans.

Tzu Chi volunteers began the relief efforts with the distribution of food and essential supplies in the most badly hit Kota Baru and led the local residents in the cleanup work through cash-for-word program.

On 2 January, there were 1891 residents participated in cleanup operation in Kota baru city. The next day operation was even bigger. After receiving the cleaning tools, the residents board on 48 trucks to various destinations in Kota Baru, such as schools, mosques, recycling centres and markets, they work together with volunteers to remove the garbage and mud.

Tzu Chi volunteers prepared a wide variety of essential supplies and condolence cash in the compound of national primary and secondary schools, and later distributed the relief aid to the affected victims to meet their needs.

Many residents were moved to tears by the sign language demonstrated by the volunteers.

On 4 January in the hardest hit Temerloh, Pahang, the cash-for-work program was carried out to cleanup homes mainly in Temerloh and Kuala Krau. More than 1300 residents participated in the program while 2000 volunteers come to offer help. A total of 25 trucks and 17 tractors were used in the three days cleaning.

From 30 December to 13 January, a total of 16,670 victims had responded to the cash-for-work program.

Three long years after that Noah-type flooding it seems most of the destroyed infrastructure are yet to be restored by the PAS state government.

Dzulkifli said he was open to criticism from the DAP leader but it should be conveyed in a civilised manner.

“The people can judge whether the behaviour and words of the DAP leader are in accordance with Malaysian culture. We are civilised people but the words used are extreme and uncivilised,” he said to reporters after attending the unveiling of an anti-corruption mural by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir at the MACC Perak office in conjunction with the MACC anti-corruption roadshow, here.

A news portal reported today that Lim criticised Dzulkifli by saying that all eyes were on the graft-buster, on whether he would lead a clean MACC.

Lim said Dzulkifli should realise that if acted as the traditional three monkeys — with eyes that see not, ears that hear not, and a mouth that speaks not — about the 1MDB scandal, he would be making the MACC into the first ‘kleptocratic’ anti-corruption agency in the world. — Bernama.

Wakakaka, Dzulkifli Ahmad has taken LKS' words about the 3 monkeys LITERALLY. And you know what? I am actually glad LKS has been scolded by MACC, even if for the silly wrong reason.

Afterall, MACC has been the best matey of LKS who abandoned justice for the Teoh family just to rub shoulders with that useless organisation. Padan muka.

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang shook hands with Rohaizad Yaakob, a top Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) official to show the opposition’s solidarity with the MACC

Yet just a year earlier Kit Siang in his article, titled "Malaysians will not rest until justice is done for the killing of Teoh Beng Hock" said DAP and Pakatan Rakyat would continue to highlight the injustice of Teoh Beng Hock’s unresolved murder

what utter bullshit

But on the alleged '3 monkeys' insult, wakakaka, that's the problem of using idioms, colloquialisms and proverbs with people like the MACC DG. That's obvious evidence why Malaysian English has gone from bad to worse.

Friday, September 29, 2017

KANGAR: Another launderette serving only Muslims has been found to be operating in Perlis – just as the Sultan of Johor and the Government have sent out a message that such segregation must not happen in Malaysia.

The self-service outlet in Jalan Kampung Bakau here has a sign that says: “This laundry is dedicated for Muslim use only”.

The main signboard stated the shop practises “Islamic laundry concept.”

A call made to the handphone number listed at the shop was answered by a man claiming to be the owner. He said he opened the laundry to serve only Muslims.

Asked why, the man said it was done for the “comfort” of the Muslim customers. He urged non-Muslims to use other launderettes and stressed the matter should not be turned into a controversy.

Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin, one of the vocal critics against the “Muslim-only” launderette in Muar, was not having any of that. He came down hard on the shop, making it clear that the state would not agree to any approach which segregated the people.

“I have received an instruction from Tuanku (the Raja Muda of Perlis) to investigate the matter and we will do it right away,” he said in a WhatsApp message.

I wonder what practising “Islamic laundry concept” means and involves?

But here again we witness the Raja Muda of Perlis ordering Dr Asri to investigate into the matter.

Will Dr Asri find sand imported from Saudi Arabia at the back of the launderette to be used for running the laundry through before being washed Malaysian-style, that is, subsequently with water and soap?

In a sultanate state, the relevant HRH can, if or when HRH chooses, stop such silly apartheid gimmicks as had been done in Johor.

And in a non-sultanate state like Penang, HM Agong, if or when HM chooses, would be the person to put a halt to divisiveness.

Thus I advise CM Lim Guan Eng and Penang exco member for religious affairs Abdul Malik Abul Kassim to watch out for PAS' 'bobby-traps' on this issue. It's the prerogative of HM Yang Dipertuan Agong to decide, so don't be too smart and 'interfere', wakakaka.

For aeons we and many of our ancestors have known of the connectivity, pedigrees and similarities of the Islam, Christianity and Judaism. And that knowledge has led us to the description of the 'People of the Book', meaning the believers in the same God of the Abrahamic religions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism, all of which came from the Middle-East region.

If I am not incorrect, Islam does NOT forbid marriages between the 'People of the Book' even without necessary religious conversion, which is to say, hypothetically, a Malaysian Muslim man or woman could marry a Christian and still be syariah-compliant if the spouse chooses to remain a Christian.

That currently is not the case as any Christian marrying a Muslim in Malaysia must be converted into a Muslim.

Leaving aside for a minute the history of much blooded wars amongst the 'People of the Book', I would appreciate from Muslim visitors some information, clarification or/and education on this point, one of many involving the 'People of the Book'.

Turkish writer Mustafa Akyol revealed today that he was detained by Malaysian Islamic authorities this week for a talk he was going to give on the commonalities between the Abrahamic religions. [...]

“When they were done with their questioning, they handed me a piece of paper with Malay writing on it and told me that I shouldn’t speak again without proper authorisation,” wrote Akyol, relating his experience questioned by religious officers after a talk on apostasy.

Muslim group Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) had earlier this week said Akyol did not understand the summons since it was in Malay, and authorities did not explain the consequences of not turning up for questioning when they talked to him in both English and Malay.

“They also warned me away from my next planned talk, which was going to be about my most recent book, The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims,” he added.

US$10.45 Kindle version - 288 pages

“We heard that you will speak about commonalities between Islam, Judaism and Christianity… We don’t like that kind of stuff,” one officer had allegedly told Akyol, as related by him.

Was JAWI trying to prevent Mustafa Akyol from expanding on the similarities between the 'People of the Book', especially on inter-marriages and the syariah-approval for non-Muslims but of the faith of Abrahamic religions like Christianity and Judaism to retain and maintain their Christian or Jewish faith?

Whatever, whichever, what has been evidently clear has been JAWI uttered dislike for any information pertaining to commonalities between Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

What is then also clear is the assumption that JAWI prefers religious dissimilarities and vast differences among the Abrahamic religions, for only in such differences will be there be disagreement.

Divide & rule?

Aten, ancient Eyptian god, said to be 1st monotheistic God in the world and possible predecessor of Judaism

Yesterday the As Sofa Islamic High School hostel in Seremban caught fire. 80% of the private school which teaches its students about the Quran was destroyed but thank heavens no kid perished in the blaze.

note the grilled window

Those who look to the Divine must be wondering whether there is a message somewhere?

Thursday, September 28, 2017

The extreme elements of ulamaks, conservative Muslims, the Jabatan2 Agama Negeri (JAN, eg. JAWI, JAIS, etc), JAKIM, and PAS have brought our multi-ethnic society to the very perilous edge of a civilised Malaysia and a once happy and cohesive country.

As I see it, there are are two categories of ugly divisiveness, namely, Talibanisation and Apartheid.

The first, Talibanisation, is to be more feared as it's increasing presence brooks ill for the future of both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

The recent case of a 30-year-old Kelantan man (Malay) being issued with a summons by the state religious department for ‘indecent dressing’ after he was caught wearing shorts in public while on his way to a futsal game.

And that's why I reckon Talibanisation is not good for Muslims as well. There have been plenty of such examples mainly involving sports men and women, and from time to time, entertainers.

Another example of how Malays have been adversely affected by extreme Talibanisation happened to a married couple in January this year.

That couple who have been married for more than 2 years were arrested by JAWI for khalwat (close proximity).

While sometimes bureaucratic mistakes occur, JAWI insisted the raid and subsequent enforcement action were lawful, but worse, the unfolding story tells us a story of an arrogant lawless JAWI, intent on punishing them married or otherwise (perhaps to show 'siapa raja'?), roughing up the couple. Even police normally don't behave like hooligans or voyeurs.

MM Online reported (extracts): Jawi said a check of its records on January 9 found the couple’s marriage to be valid and solemnised in Kuala Lumpur on October 7, 2014.But the department denied wrongdoing and noted that the January 8 raid by its enforcement officers was based on a public tip-off at 10.55pm of January 7.

Jawi, in its statement of defence, argued that the arrest and detention were lawful as the couple had allegedly failed to produce evidence to show that they were married.

According to the couple’s court filing, the Jawi raid team comprised eight officers, seven who were male and had forcefully entered their room despite Mohd Ridhuan telling them his wife — in a singlet and shorts — was underdressed.KT note: That's the voyeurs' part, where 7 male JAWI officers barged in to witness an innocent man's wife in a state of undress (maybe 'they rushed in ...'?)

But JAWI officers already have a shameful lascivious notoriety of inappropriate indecent immoral behaviour in the very presence of ladies, as was witnessed in early 2005. A BBC report then told us (selected extracts):More than 100 plainclothes officers from the Federal Territories Islamic Department (JAWI) detained young Muslims at the Zouk nightclub.

Female detainees complained of sexual harassment by officers and the incident has led to a heated debate about the department's future.Eyewitnesses have now told the BBC that officers assaulted and severely beat members of the club's staff.The sources also said that non-Muslim patrons, including tourists, who were outside the officers' jurisdiction, also reported being threatened with violence. [...]In the days after the raid it emerged that dozens of young women were held for up to 10 hours without access to a toilet, long after male detainees had been released.A number of women said religious officers ordered them to pose in their nightclub outfits while others were asked lewd questions about their genitalia.

Continuing with our more recent story of JAWI's shame:The male enforcers allegedly refused to leave the room even after the husband presented photos of their wedding and their Jawi-issued marriage certificate, and instead ordered Siti Sarah to dress in front of them.Just how low, lascivious and 'immoral' could such so-called 'moral police' be? The f**k-ing Peeping Toms.

Scuffles broke out twice during the raid during which Mohd Ridhuan said he was strangled and suffered injuries to his neck while his wife’s left arm was bruised. Both said their injuries required medical attention.

The duo said they were held separately at Jawi’s office for an hour, and the officers refused to recognise they were a married couple despite being presented with the original marriage certificate by the husband’s mother later.

Mohd Ridhuan and Siti Sarah were only released after his mother was forced to sign a personal bond stating that the couple would return for investigation and that she would pay RM3,000 if they failed to turn up, while the couple themselves said they were forced to sign a personal bond acknowledging their arrest for khalwat.

Of the various JAN organisations, I noted from my reading of media news over the years, I have to say JAWI has been the most notorious and draconianly ferocious in its conduct if we recount their performance in:

Nik Raina should have come to see me. Those JAWI pansies don't have the 'coconuts' to touch me. They only dare to bully sweeties

(iv) wrongful but brutal oppressive persecution of Kassim Ahmad,

(v) recent detention of a Turk academic.Just a question: How was JAWI able to use Immigration and the Police to detain Turk national Mustafa Akyol at the international airport when JAWI's religious jurisdiction is confined to ONLY the federal territory of KL? [see JAWI failed attempt to prosecute Kassim Ahmad]

Mustafa Akyol

(vi) 2016 when JAWI warned that young Muslims nowadays have greater lust and desire since they have easier access to “indecent materials”.

In fact on 16 Dec 2016, it was reported by MM Online that JAWI suggested that the difficulty in getting married may have contributed towards the cases of rape, adultery and baby dumping.JAWI then asked Muslim families to reduce the quantum of dowry and wedding gifts, or “hantaran”, in order to facilitate marriages between couples.That's the sad reflection of JAWI's feral preoccupation with sex, lust and the undressed state of other people's wife.

JAWI should be the first JAN organisation to be disbanded as they are not 'moral police' so much as indeed immoral 'pervs' and brutish Brownshirts.For more, see my post close JAWI down.Their barbaric bad behaviour is guaranteed to happen again because the system provides near unbridled power to officials but who lack knowledge in depth, intellectual capacity or good character to handle such authority.

Abuses are likely to occur when power is not moderated by knowledgeable and scrupulous responsibility, not when 7 JAWI so-called 'moral police' bulldozed their way into a hotel room to immorally ogle at a man's wife in a state of undress.

Thus the problem lies in the unauthorised and abusive exercise of power by those in authority on their unfortunate victims, namely, the power to religiously-legally dominate the victims, to make them do what the authority so desires, sometimes to stretch the exercise of power as far as the oppressors' imagination permits.

Those are the bad bad examples of Tabilanisation.

The other aspect of ugly divisiveness in Malaysia, namely, Apartheid, has been what the erstwhile Muslim-ONLY launderette was attempting to practise, namely, to separate Muslims from non-Muslims as if the launderette was for 'Whites Only' while the non-Muslim 'niggers' or 'infidels' or 'kaffirs' were prohibited.

in Muar Johor

in South Africa

Unc saw such a toilet sign in RAF Changi Singapore during British days

When the sad horrendous tragedy of the fire at KL tahfiz school killed 21 children, the immediate priority of JAKIM was to quarantine any criticism of the school rather than to look to the sorrow and needs of the grieving parents.

That was an ugly example of Apartheid practice, to deny opinions from the 'unwashed', whether Muslims or non-Muslims.Another is MARA Digital Mall otherwise known notoriously as Lowyat2, a creation for bumiputera ONLY, prompted by the criminal actions of one Malay thief and hooligan.

But generally Apartheid in religion, any religion except Judaism, is not common. Apartheid has more to do with a racist or ethic-bigoted mentality, like having only bumiputeras in certain universities, top civil and military posts, government affirmative actions, discounted housing prices, political parties like Pribumi.

The reason why I deem Judaism as practising Apartheid (ironically for a religion and its people who were horrendously victimised in Europe during WWII) is its indivisibility from the Jewish race. Thus to a practising conservative Jew, he or she can't tell when his/her race begins and religion ends, or vice versa. In truth Judaism is exclusively for a Jew and vice versa.

To a Jew there is no difference between the race and religion, as some Malays would argue that's the way the Malay race and Malay religion (Islam) are.

The latter though is not quite correct as some Malays are Hindus and Christians and perhaps even Buddhists in Indonesia. If one were to consider the Malay race of East Timor and the northern part of Philippines, then Malays are Christians too, and not all Abu Sayyaf-ists.

Ironically, Talibanisation is more inclusive of ethnicity PROVIDED the 'outsiders' are prepared to embrace the Malaysian Taliban's religion and practices.Apartheid OTOH is inflexible and promotes only uniqueness, generally of institutionalised racial segregation and discrimination as in former White supremacist South Afrika, Nazi Germany and in today's deep south of the USA, though in Malaysia we see some aspects of religion being hijacked for such exclusivity.

But Talibanisation is the more dangerous aspect of Malaysian divisiveness. It promotes its own beliefs, way of life, culture, practices etc but ALSO intends to proselytise them forcefully into the lives of 'outsiders' or non-Muslims.

When one shafts one's value system and belief down another's throat, that's when ugliness can turn violent.

About Me

Just a bloke interested in the socio-political whatnots around the world, particularly those in Malaysia. Loves a laugh or/and story or two, or more, but loves civility and courtesy much more, especially in politics